Last night’s Choice Eats was the event of the season for eaters with tastes as eclectic as the Village Voice food critic Robert Sietsema (who we interviewed yesterday.) The sprawling Puck Building food fest had something for everyone, with over 30 restaurants handpicked by the man who’s eaten everywhere, from Brooklyn cafes specializing in Barbados cuisine and Manhattan’s sole Sri Lankan restaurant to hipster spots slinging Malaysian fare and barbecue. As a DJ spun a selection of world music as diverse as the evening’s menu, even diehard fans of Sietsema's Counter Culture column were heard sheepishly admitting that they’d only eaten at a handful of the restaurants represented.
The two eateries with the longest lines couldn’t have been any more different. Tiffin Wallah, a vegetarian Indian joint in Curry Hill, served up chaat, a snack which in this case featured tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, potatoes mixed with spices according to taste. All that and a griddle with what the fellow manning it referred to as “Indian pancakes.” Diehard fans of South Indian fare instantly recognized them as miniature utthapam. Nomenclature aside, they served well to soak up the spicy stewed vegetables. Williamsburgh’s Fette Sau was equally popular, so much so that Chef Matt Lang went through 60 pounds of succulent barbecued beef in the first hour. The jury’s still out on whether it was straight-up brisket or pastrami.
Another standout in the carnivorous category was Peppa’s Jerk Chicken. One forkful of the juicy spice-rubbed bird splashed with homemade hot sauce explained the Brooklyn restaurant’s name. Krik Krak, an uptown Haitian spot was serving up griot, boiled pork that was subsequently fried, resulting in morsels of crunchy porcine goodness.
The one downside is that, short of purging, it proved difficult to find room for every restaurant’s fare. Sietsema himself had no such issues since he’s reviewed them all. The unmasked man was wandering around the room taking it all in and marveled at the diversity of the hungry horde: “What really delights me is the international nature of the crowd.”
